...For the Love of Fine Words.
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Friday, August 24, 2012

Diana - Story of a Princess by Tim Clayton and Phil Craig

The Brits put on a nice
show at the Olympics, didn’t they, synthesizing all the elements that make this
island nation so unique – at once both a bastion of European tradition, and at
the avant-garde of the arts and social trends. The segment where the Queen
parachutes in with the redoubtable 007 was especially appreciated for its
co-mingling of royalty and cheeky humor. For after all, what could be more
English than the Queen of England?

Though as intrigued as
the rest of the world might plausibly be about a lifestyle that includes
tiaras, gracious hand-waving, and ribbon-cutting, I’ve always been a little skeptical
about books that purport to tell us about the Royals as they ‘really are’, more
so when they are penned by British writers. Those have always seemed to be
either fawning tributes, or bitchy exposés. The best biographies are
extensively researched; unsparing in recounting the pertinent details of the
subject’s life; impartial in their analysis; neutral in tone, yet insightful;
offering readers a perspective that would have otherwise eluded them. Judging
by these standards, Clayton and Craig’s chronicle of the late Princess Diana’s
life is a decent read, though its sympathy seems slanted more toward the Royals
than Diana.

As you might know if
you have ever read about the battling Windsors, the press always chose a side
when describing the tensions between Diana and her then-husband – Charles,
Prince of Wales. Most of the time, Diana appeared to have won the war for the
public’s support. The beautiful, well-coiffed Princess with her global
do-gooder image, and mega-watt charisma just made better copy than the
noticeably stiff and reserved Prince. As to the truth of their marriage, who
really knows? If you believed Diana’s version, she was a loving, vulnerable
woman whose heart was broken by her insensitive, philandering cad of a husband.
The Prince’s vociferous supporters might say that she was a bottomless pit of insecurity
whose incessant demands for attention would wear down the patience of a saint. What
is evident to the reader is that the union was perforce doomed from the start with
the pair’s uncompromising personalities, and their readiness to seek solace
outside their marriage.

But apparently, it wasn’t
just Charles with whom Diana had a falling-out. Clayton and Craig charge that
Diana opened hostilities on the entire Royal family over their perceived lack
of support, and their belittling of all that she strove to do. It was a family
feud that played out before a captivated world audience, and when one side
proceeded to spill the beans, the other didn’t want to be left behind. The
paparazzi, sensing a free-for-all gleefully jumped into the fray, at which
point nothing was sacred, least of all notions of privacy or personal dignity.

Diana, had very early
on, started a dangerous flirtation with the Press, smitten with the idea of her
own celebrity. Like a woman not understanding the consequences of encouraging
an obsessive suitor, she showed particularly poor judgment in her dealings with
the paparazzi. When the fracas got out of control, and Diana felt herself being
hounded on all sides, she attempted a retreat from public life, which didn’t
last too long. The last years of the Princess’s life and her tragic death make
a sad story; but as to who was to bear the blame for that is left to the readers’
discernment.

So, who was Diana? Was
she a self-promoting Princess of ‘Wails’, a drama queen in search of an
audience, a loose cannon barreling down the corridors of power? Or was she the
angel of mercy that many thought her to be, an instinctive humanitarian with a
near magical ability to channel compassion, and an intuitive empathy for those in
pain? In the course of her turbulent, all too short life, she played many roles.
No doubt people will believe what they want to believe.